12 replies to this topic

[Ray Bell]

Published details, articles and pictures of Australian Specials abound, and with good reason...

 

The lack of 'factory' racing and sports cars in Australia wasn't unique, but it was probably a more intensively-followed path for people wanting performance cars here. A couple of factors - the distance from manufacturers and intensive competition in Europe and the natural affinity of Australians to inventively substitute lesser machinery - led to huge numbers of Specials being created.

 

Of course, the most outstanding of these attracted the attention of magazine editors, hence there were articles published from time to time. In particular, the Australian Motor Sport magazine featured these, often with one in each issue, for many years.

 

As a source for details about these cars, these published articles are invaluable. With one word of caution, sometimes there were errors, in particular with regard to the Eldred Norman Double 8, which was not included in that list, but was covered in the Motor Manual annuals in which it was said to have an independent front suspension with which it was never fitted.

 

The AMS listings from the 1946 and 1947 issues were:

 

1 - Day Special (Bugatti 39 with Ford V8) - August 1946

2 - Ewing Buick - September 1946

3 - Ballot Oldsmobile - October 1946

4 - Kleinig Hudson - November 1946

5 - BWA - December 1946

6 - Mildren monoposto V8 - February 1947

7 - Innis Special - March 1947

8 - Andrews Special (3.5 Austin 6) - April 1947

9 - MG Magna Special (Bib Stillwell) - May 1947

10 - Lyell-Dent Austin 7 - June 1947

11 - Chamberlain 8 - July 1947

12 - Rizzo Riley - August 1947

13 - Magna Mercury (Ross Davidson) - September 1947

14 - McKellar V8 (Bugatti Ford V8) - October 1947

15 - Itala V8 - November 1947

16 - Ballot V8 (Jack Nelson) - December 1947

[Ray Bell]

Moving on to the 1948 and 1949 articles...

 

17 - Bartlett (Salmson) Special - January 1948

18 - Pip Thomas (Salmson) Special - February 1948

19 - Maybach I - March 1948

20 - Jeep V8 (Ray Mitchell) - April 1948

21 - Clem Dwyer Plymouth - May 1948

22 - Morris Special (Gordon Stewart) - June 1948

23 - Milthorpe V8 Special - July 1948

24 - Sunbeam V8 (Bib Stillwell) - August 1948

25 - Williams Alvis 12/50 - September 1948

26 - Alta Ford V8 - October 1948*

27 - Autocrat (Jeep Spl) - November 1948

28 - Wyliecar Ford A Special - December 1948

29 - AGM Special (Alec Mildren road-going V8) - January 1949

30 - Anzani Bugatti - February 1949

31 - Spike (Ford 10) Special - March 1949

32 - Keegan Riley Sprite - April 1949

33 - Ken Wylie Austin A40 Special - May 1949

34 - Black Bess - June 1949

35 - Head Brothers Austin Special (3.5-litre) - July 1949

36 - Wilcox Dodge - August 1949

37 - Crossley Amilcar - September 1949

38 - Alta Special - October 1949*

 

* Note that these are the same car, something we will see again in this series. The V8 engine was removed from this Alta (brought to Australia in 1938 by Briton Alan Sinclair) and an 1100cc engine fitted. Someone might confirm that this engine was the original being refitted.

[Ray Bell]

In 1950 the series continued strongly...

 

39 - Alvis Mercury - January 1950

40 - Lea Francis Special - March 1950

41 - Curran Ford V8 - April 1950

42 - Fellows Morris Special* - May 1950

43 - Hudson Special - June 1950

44 - Jack Jeffrey Studebaker - July 1950

45 - Morris 8/40 Special - August 1950

46 - 6.5-litre Bentley - September 1950

47 - Sulman Singer - October 1950

48 - Bill Patterson MG TC Special - November 1950

49 - Lombard Vauxhall - December 1950

50 - Reg Hunt 500 - January 1951

51 - Robert Lane's MGY Special - February 1951

52 - Ralt (Ford 10) 1100 - April 1951

53 - Dick Cobden MG TC Special - May 1951

54 - Wylie Javelin - June 1951

55 - D. Stephenson's Rudge 500 Special - August 1951

56 - Ian Mountain MYF Ford V8 - November 1951

57 - Ted Whiteford's Ford V8 - December 1951

58 - Harrison MG TD Special - March 1952

59 - Davison MG TC Special - April 1952

60 - Irwin Luke Sunbeam Ford V8 - August 1952

61 - Fred Thorne Austin 7 - September 1952

62 - Lancia V8 - October/November 1952

 

* This car's engine is over 1500cc, but I don't see anywhere what Morris it's from. Does anyone know?

[Ray Bell]

63 - Davison's 'little' Alfa - January 1953

64 - Len Cummine Ford V8 - March 1953

65 - Jock Walkem Javelin Special - May 1965*

66 - Prad V8/60 - July 1953

67 - JSR Ford V8 (Jack Rees) - August 1953+

67 - Rizzo Riley - September 1953+

68 - Barclay MG TC - December 1953

69 - Coffey Mk 1 (Fiat 1100) - April 1954

70 - Fowler MG TC - September 1954

71 - Ian Mountain Peugeot Special - December 1954

72 - Noel Wade Austin A40 - January 1955

73 - Wylie Shereline Special - March 1955

74 - MM Holden (Molina-Massola) - April 1955

75 - Curley Brydon MG TC Special - June/July 1955

76 - Stewart MG - August 1955

78 - Paul England Ausca Repco-Holden - June 1956*

78 -  Bob Pritchett's 'Monster' - July 1956*

79 - WM Cooper - October 1956

 

+ Both numbered 67 in series, an error which was not corrected. * No number 77, another error in their numbering, presumably the Ausca should have been No 77.

[Ray Bell]

As can be seen by the gaps in the listings (ie. gaps between publication of details of cars featured), the steam was running out by 1956...

 

The emergence of more 'factory' cars was a part of this, especially among the top echelon of cars, also the growing affluence of competitors so that they could afford ready-built cars But there were still some to be covered:

 

80 - Decca Mk 2 - April 1957

81 - Porsche Special (Ern Tadgell) - August 1957

 

It was then a big gap, until the April issue of 1959, before another Special was featured, and it wasn't 'numbered' as previous ones were...

 

Laurie Whitehead's VW Special - April 1959

Keith Rilstone's Zephyr Special (the Eldred Norman Eclipse Zephyr with improvements) - February 1960

Earl Davey-Milne's Bugatti Corvette - August 1960

 

When Len Shaw, then the editor, wrote this story he mentioned the previous popularity of the Australian Specials articles and he was reintroducing the series. However, it was a slow-moving reintroduction...

 

Alan Staton's BRM 500 (Norton-Manx powered) - November 1960

George Buchanan's Buchanan Skoda - March 1961*

"Three Faces of Ausca", different forms taken by the Paul England Ausca featured as the first No 78 in the series - September 1961

"Go or Blow Special", Dick Crawford's JMW 150 - February 1964

 

* Almost difficult to see this as a Special as Buchanan was marketing the fibreglass bodies as on this car.

 

There was, by the 1961 volume of the magazine, many more stories about cars being built in series. Lynx, Elfin, Jolus and imported cars from Lotus particularly, were regularly found in the magazine's pages. Additionally, the April 1962 issue carried a story about Milano GTs. There was more of this to come, but by 1965 the magazine was becoming more and more devoted to production cars.

[MarkBisset]

All of our magazines are great resources, AMS particularly so.

 

I've got 1948/49/50 as bound sets, but otherwise 60 or so spread across the decades. One day I'll buy a set otherwise a few mates get me out of jail every now and then with the-right-article.

 

m

[Ray Bell]

Frankly, Mark, they became pretty useless for the things you and I look for as soon as RCN came on stream...

 

But what I'd like to achieve with this thread is to unearth other such articles. Sports Car World gave detailed descriptions of some Specials over the years, while Motor Manual put out a special magazine most years of the fifties and I'm sure that was - at least for a time - called Australia's Fastest Cars.

 

There will be details in there that will be of assistance to us, it's just a matter of finding them.

[Vitesse2]

On the tangential subject of Aussie motoring magazines, what sort of coverage did they give to what was happening in Britain and Europe in both the motor industry and racing in the 1930s? Just recycled press releases, or were there more comprehensive articles? If the latter, were they signed?

[Ray Bell]

There was a Bill Boddy 'letter' in each issue of the early AMS from its beginnings in 1946...

 

Reports on some races, information about new Pommie cars, all of that sort of thing.

[MarkBisset]

On the tangential subject of Aussie motoring magazines, what sort of coverage did they give to what was happening in Britain and Europe in both the motor industry and racing in the 1930s? Just recycled press releases, or were there more comprehensive articles? If the latter, were they signed?

 

Richard,

 

Tough questions, this stuff is a good one for Stephen (Dalton), it's very much in his wheelhouse.

 

I don't think there were many Oz motoring mags in the 1930s. The Car was 'the official organ of the Light Car Club of Australia' and a couple of other clubs depending upon the year, and is very good. I don't recall its start and finish dates despite Tony Johns telling me. They are surely hens teeth as the membership of that club(s) would have been very small. Maybe it was sold in the shops? 

 

My mate Bob King has some, I've copied the features I liked in those to progressively pop up on primotipo over time. The first (and only one so far) is this one on the Riley Imp: https://primotipo.co...4/13/riley-imp/

 

Trove is the Australian Government's digital newspaper library. Rolled gold for researchers. Over the five years or so I've used it I'm amazed at the quality of the racing material, I can't talk for the road car stuff as it's of little interest to me.

 

Sticking with the Riley Imp, here is the link to that search: https://trove.nla.go...yword=riley imp

 

Search engines are capricious minxes, this one is no exception. Tangential searches around the topic always bare fruit.

 

Finally, most articles in the period, it seems to me, lack a byline or have a pesky nom de guerre...

 

Mark

Edited by MarkBisset, 08 August 2024 - 00:06.

[Vitesse2]

Thanks, Mark. I've used Trove a lot myself, but while it's very good on newspapers, it falls down on magazines - I guess because the ANL just doesn't have them?

 

I'm researching one particular English journalist's writings. He has one very well-known 'identity', which is not his real name - he had changed that from his birth name to drop his original surname and one of his forenames by deed poll anyway and would eventually change it again to match that identity - and in addition to writing for adult and children's magazines and publishing books under those two I reckon he may have used as many as thirty or forty others, as well as the stuff he is known to have published anonymously and known or suspected to have ghosted for (at least) speedway riders, racing drivers and cricketers. His fiction writing for youngsters ranges from school stories to Westerns, via crime, adventure stories, war stories, science fiction and (of course) a lot of motor sport on two and four wheels. He wrote short stories for adults too and although publishing stuff about motoring and motor sport under that well-known identity he was also moonlighting on other non-specialist magazines writing motoring columns under at least one other name! He wrote stage plays and movie scripts as well ...

 

I doubt he'd have had any contacts with the various Australian newspapers, but I have a suspicion that he may have been at least in contact with the publishers of The Car, or had a subscription, as it is sometimes quoted as a source for Australian news in UK magazines for which he worked. I have evidence that he was certainly interested in Australian racing, although he never seems to have travelled there.

[Ray Bell]

John Medley and Brian Lear will be the experts on the pre-war magazines...

 

They spent many days in libraries going through stuff. One magazine of those times which covered motor sport was The Referee.

[MarkBisset]

Richard,

 

Your writer does sound interesting and multifaceted! There is one modern Oz motoring writer with gifts that cross many fields and target markets.

 

The Referee Ray referred to is very good and was a newspaper not a magazine so it may have popped up in your various Trove searches.

 

m